Woman loses Dhs375,000 ‘Chalet’ compensation case against her brother in Abu Dhabi

Aya El Deeb, Staff Reporter

The Al Dhafra Court of Appeal rejected a lawsuit filed by a woman against her brother, in which she demanded that he be obligated to pay her Dhs357,000.

Details of the case date back to an earlier time, when the woman filed a lawsuit against her brother, demanding that he be obligated to pay Dhs357,000 and the delayed annual interest of 12%.

The plaintiff indicated that during her father's life she had a recreational "Chalet" built on a plot of land, and after the completion of the construction, it was found that it was built on a plot of land belonging to her brother.

She explained that the construction cost her Dhs357,000, according to receipts and invoices she attached to the lawsuit, pointing out that she asked her brother to pay her the amount but he refused and prevented her from entering the Chalet.

The appellee said the building was constructed with funding from his deceased father, who informed him before his death that it was a pure gift, adding that his sister did not finance it as she claimed.

The judge assigned a committee of experts that said the total costs amounted to Dhs555,000, and that the plaintiff transferred the money to the contractors according to original receipts of Dhs357,000.

The court explained that, according to witnesses, the chalet was built with funding from both the father and his daughter, the plaintiff.

The Court of First Instance obligated the brother to pay his sister Dhs357,000 and a 4% legal interest.

He was also obligated to pay fees and expenses of the lawsuit and all other requests were rejected. 

The brother appealed the ruling, demanding that the case be rejected and an engineering expert be assigned to find the value of the building in its  current situation, not nine years ago.

He affirmed that the plot of land was not owned by him, but by the government and has been allocated to him for his use and can be withdrawn at any time, and therefore his ownership of the land is incomplete.

He added that his father granted his sister a general power of attorney according to which she managed his accounts and that the buildings on land allocated to him were funded by his father and not by his sister.

The Al Dhafra Appellate Court affirmed that the plot of land was owned by the government and was temporarily allocated to the brother for use and benefit, but he really does not own it.

The court also pointed out that the plaintiff did not investigate before the construction of the building with the competent authorities.

The Court overturned the initial ruling, dismissed the case and obligated the plaintiff to pay the fees and expenses, noting that there was no reason to obligate the brother to pay the amounts demanded by the plaintiff.